Talk to me about GPS receivers

[rhu]

We've been putting this off, but with a road trip coming up this summer we're thinking of buying a GPS receiver for our car. But we don't do a lot of driving in general, and doubly not a lot in unfamiliar territory, so we don't want to spend more than we have to. $150 is our goal, $200 might be able to justify itself, $300 is absurd.

What features sound better on the box than in your hand? I'm thinking we want widescreen and text-to-speech for road names. Lane assist sounds like it could be a big win, but is it? And is Garmin worth the premium, or would we be satisfied with another brand?

Edited to add: Thanks for the useful feedback. We've decided on the Garmin 760, which lacks lane assist but we've decided we don't need that. It seems from our research that the price premium for Garmin units is justified.

Comments

[wesleyjenn.livejournal.com]

I have very little experience with these things but as a novice at GPS just using one for the first time recently I would say that you definitely want the text-to-speech for road names. The one I was using didn't have it and I was constantly worried that I was making the wrong turn because I couldn't have that confirmation.

[mabfan.livejournal.com]

You absolutely want one that knows the street names, and will tell you Turn right on Main Street and not just Turn right.

[cellio]

I have limited experience, but I find the speech essential. It's not always convenient to look at the screen to read a street name.

[(Anonymous)]

George gave me a Garmin nüvi 760 for Christmas. We had used one on our Route 66 trip last summer and it worked really well. The text-to-speech works well (and provided some amusement when pronouncing some things, such as "raw sausage" for "Ross-Osage"). We also found the directory of "Points of Interest" (hotels, shopping, food, etc.) useful when we were heading to our hotel at the end of a very long day of driving.

Using it locally, even though I don't really venture far, it comes in handy for those routes that I don't travel often and am always worried about missing a turn (speech comes in very handy). This might not apply to you, but I also like having the Bluetooth wireless that directs calls from my iPhone to the GPS speaker and mic for hands-free, in case anyone calls while I'm in the car.

We haven't had a chance to use it as a GPS for hiking, but it is portable and small enough that it would come in handy I think. Also, I use the friction mount (not the provided suction cup mount), which makes it very easy to move around in the car, get it out of the way, etc.

Features that I have not used: FM transmitter that can send audio through the car stereo and the real-time traffic (not even the free trial subscription).

It is on the higher end of your range, but my mom got a nüvi 360 and seems happy with it (and she gets to drive around in L.A.!), so that might be an alternative...

Julie

[vettecat.livejournal.com]

Where are you headed? And, pardon my ignorance, but would a map not work as well?

[530nm330hz.livejournal.com]

We're driving to DC and Baltimore.

For part of the trip, I will be in Baltimore while H has the car and the kids in DC (and then they'll drive up and rejoin me), so our usual MO of one person navigating for the other won't work.

I also like the idea of the GPS being able to help us make spontaneous changes to our plans by telling us where the nearest ATM, grocery store, etc. is while we're driving. With kids, the timing of stops can be a lot less predictable, and finding kosher food options can be difficult. When we drove to my cousin's bar mitzvah last year, we got off the highway at an exit that looked promising, and still had to drive about half an hour before we found an actual supermarket.

[vettecat.livejournal.com]

Makes sense. What's the occasion?

[bookishfellow.livejournal.com]

For work travel, I alternate between a TomTom Go (no text to speech, but frankly I don't miss it; good point-of-interest directory, but make sure you're able to update it for when Indianapolis Airport closes its old terminal and opens a new one on the other side of the airfield) and printing off the route on Google Maps (cheap, at least as easy as the GPS, but distracting if you don't have a navigator in the car with you).